Note: I take my role as swapper and hostess very seriously here, meaning I don't flake or send late. Having said that, I do NOT take this all so seriously that I feel the need to belittle or berate people who don't send me a letter or a postcard or a bag of craft stuff. I don't see the point and it's not how I operate. I'm not going to put a wall of shame on my profile to point out people who have flaked on me. That's what the rating system is for. I'm not going to check every postmark and rate someone low if the postmark date is a bit late. We're all adults and should act accordingly. And honestly, in the grand scheme of things, it's mail. IT'S JUST MAIL.Keep things in perspective and you'll be a lot happier. I guarantee it.

Updated: I'll reiterate everything I said above, but with emphasis. THIS IS JUST MAIL. Seriously. There's war and famine and disease and struggle in the world. THIS.IS.JUST.MAIL. Save the drama for the things in life that are truly worth of it.

• Michelle
• Mom
• Wife
• Prince fan
• Pug Mom
• Blogger
• Bookworm
• Genealogist
• Trivia Buff
• Music lover
• Traveler
• Francophile
• Yoga amateur

And here's the link to my blog: Mama Bear Said So

• Prince (all-time favorite)
• Lady Gaga
• Michael Franti
• George Michael
• Sheryl Crow
• U2
• John Lennon
• Bob Marley
• Sia
• Paramore
• My Chemical Romance
• Queen
• Green Day
• Death Cab for Cutie

• Gone with the Wind - all-time favorite!
• Purple Rain
• Braveheart
• Everything is Illuminated
• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Big Lebowski
• Young Frankenstein
• History of the World Pt. 1
• Blazing Saddles
• The Jerk
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Life of Brian
• The Hunger Games
• SuckerPunch
• Fight Club
• The Fault in Our Stars
• Midnight in Paris
• Yes Man
• Chocolat
• The Wizard of Oz
• Amelie
• Grease
• The Lego Movie
• Anchorman
• Dirty Dancing
• La Vie En Rose
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Brave
• Inside/Out
• Also, love most of the Disney & Pixar animated films & I love scary movies!

• Broad City (my new addiction!)
• The Walking Dead
• Downton Abbey
• Weeds
• The Strain
• Laverne & Shirley
• Boardwalk Empire
• United States of Tara
• The Tudors
• Intervention
• Orange is the New Black
• American Horror Story
• Dracula
• The First 48
• You're the Worst
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• Project Runway
• Seinfeld
• Game of Thrones

• Journaling (especially Smash journals and junk journals)
• Collage
• Mail Art
• Pocket Scrapbooking (like Project Life)

I'm a bookworm and I always have been, so my list of favorites would be a mile long, but here are a few:

• Gone With the Wind
• Practical Magic
• The Witching Hour
• Interview With the Vampire
• The Vampire Lestat
• Lasher
• Practical Magic
• Talk Before Sleep
• The Freedom Manifesto
• How to Be Idle
• How to Be Free
• The Idle Parent
• The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• The Hobbit
• Say When
• Blackbird House
• The Ice Queen
• The Story Sisters
• The Shining
• The Green Mile
• Bridget Jones' Diary
• The Shopaholic series
• Gerald's Game
• Misery
• Radical Self-Love and a million others...

My favorite authors are Anne Rice, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Alice Hoffman, Elizabeth Berg, Gillian Flynn, John Green, Anais Nin, Dorothy Parker and Tom Hodgkinson. I love chick lit (esp. Brit chik lit), thrillers, non-fiction, true crime, horror, and literature.

I'm downsizing and really don't need or have space for a lot of extra stuff, so don't feel that you have to send extra goodies with a swap. However, if you have anything related to Paris or France or Prince or foreign language or vintage ephemera - I'd be happy to have it. I'm also interested in Buddhism and paganism. Thank you!

If, for some reason, you do not receive something from me and I am one of your swap partners, PLEASE be sure to contact me and let me know. I have NEVER flaked on a swap in my life and I don't intend to start anytime soon. But if you don't get something from me and I've marked my items as "sent", let me know and I'll resend right away. Thank you :)

I am a really tolerant, easygoing person, but communication is very important. If something crazy happens, let me know and we can work something out. If I don't hear from you, I have no choice but to assume you're flaking. I don't post flakers on my profile because I prefer to handle things privately.

I'm a firm believer in everyone's right to believe as they wish, however, I don't have any wish to discuss politics or religion. I appreciate religious art and imagery and I'm interested in the study of different belief systems, but I don't need to be converted to anything. Thank you for respecting that. :)